Advertising's Impact on Childhood Obesity

Childhood obesity is a worldwide epidemic. The disease is now the most common chronic disease affecting children of all ages and childhood obesity rates have tripled since the 1970s. Data from 2015-2016 show that one in five children, ages six to 19 in the United States is obese (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018). According to the World Health Organization (2017), The number of overweight or obese infants and young children (aged 0 to 5 years) increased from 32 million globally in 1990 to 41 million in 2016. If current trends continue the number of overweight or obese infants and young children globally will increase to 70 million by 2025. Childhood obesity is a disease that affects not only the child, but entire families, schools and; communities. One major contributing factor to childhood obesity is the increasing screen time children are exposed to each day. In the new digital age, children are spending more time in front of screens, which leads to less time spent doing physical activities. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children two to five years of age have no more than 60 minutes of screen time a day, and children older than six having consistent limits of media usage (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2016). The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2018), reports children ages eight to 10 spend an average of six hours a day in front of a screen. Because of this increased time in front of a screen, especially through the use of smart phones, tablets, computers, and television, it is easier for advertisers to market food directly to children. Advertisers spend millions annually to influence children to make poor dietary choices. Researchers are actively studying the effect of advertising on children to create solutions to address obesity. Although childhood obesity is a multifactorial problem, the influence of food advertising can't be ignored